Employers ready to raise the stakes for health incentives

Your employer wants you to stop smoking and lose some weight. And the boss is willing to sweeten the pot if you succeed.

There's a new twist to corporate wellness programs: Increasingly, employers want to see concrete results before they reward you with premium breaks on your health benefits or with cash and gift cards.

In a September survey of 466 large to midsize employers by the professional services company Towers Watson, 65% of respondents said that for 2011 they'll increase incentives to take part in these programs. And 62% said that by 2012, instead of offering employees incentives to participate in wellness programs like in years past, they'll only pay up after they see demonstrated action and results.